ASUWRFC Falls to UCSD in Season Opener

On Saturday, January 22, the ASU Women's Rugby team took the field for the first time in 2011. They faced University of California-San Diego, a longtime league rival who is usually evenly matched with ASU. The game started and both teams began a bit hesitantly, it being the first conference game of the season. Unfortunately, soon into the game ASU star center Alex McNamara had to leave due to a shoulder injury. ASU kept on battling, though, and was nearly within inches of scoring a try multiple times. However, they never got quite into the try zone and so the the first half ended with UCSD ahead 12-0.

ASU came out in the second half ready to play and scored a quick two tries right in a row, bringing the score to 12-10. UCSD took note of this, regained their composure and fought back, scoring another five tries in the half. The final score ended up being 43-17 UCSD. Tries for ASU were scored by centers Alexis Snyder and Kristyn Foster. Fullback Lee Holland also added a try for ASU.



After the A team lost, the B sides for UCSD and ASU played a short 30 minute game. ASU showed some great potential in their rookies and kept up with UCSD for the entire match. The final score ended up being 12-7 with UCSD just barely pulling away with a win.



Overall, after a fairly disappointing season opener, ASU still has some things to work on. However, it was great to see to see rookies and the B side do such a great job! The girls are looking forward to the next time they play UCSD, hoping that they can come away with a win to make up for the first loss.

Better Late Than Never

Those of us who are able to contribute to this blog are deeply sorry for the lack of updates over the last few months. I wanted to post here to personally let any readers know that this is going to change very soon.

ASUWRFC has just begun practice for the conference season this week. The season starts with a home game against San Diego on Saturday, January 22nd. The girls have all been working very hard and are determined to make a huge turnaround from last season and start this one with a win.

For anyone who doesn't know, our team's main goal this year is to make it to Sweet 16s, which will take place in different cities all across the country. Depending on how the season goes, ASU rugby could be playing as close as California or as far as Florida for Sweet 16s. With the recent announcement that TWO teams from the SoCal conference will earn seeds this year, the team is more motivated than ever, and will be working even harder to earn the first place seed.

Readers can begin to expect more timely updates on this blog, so please continue to check back or subscribe to us through your RSS reader. We will be posting game details and statistics along with any other important updates concerning the team, rugby, and whatever else may come up.

In the meantime, please be sure to "like" our Facebook page at facebook.com/ASUWRFC. Feel free to post on there, whether you want to share a picture, video, or even a short comment! We would love to begin encouraging more interaction through Facebook, so anything is welcome.

Also, be sure to check out our website at asuwrfc.com. We have the game calendar there along with other information about the team, including how to join and how to contact coaches and/or the exec committee. The shop will also be opening very soon incase anyone is interested in buying some ASUWRFC gear!

Go Devils!

To all the asu rugby ladies, best of luck this season.

I played rugby in college and am still fortunate enough to talk to my former coach and be part of what I think is an amazing organization. Now that I am an art director working in advertising I thought it was time to give back. 

Barry is a great coach and is so open to networking and creating positive attention for this womens rugby team. We decided to collaborate on a rugby branding overhaul. This included a new logo, recruiting posters and an entire branding strategy to get the word out that there is a women's team and everyone should want to be part of it in some way. 

We wanted these posters to grab the attention of everyone on campus not just possible players. After completion we learned that bars are now paying the team to have a set of these posters and reprints are in the near future. This project is leading to other great things including a complete web redesign and possibly other media executions.

With the help of AD, Abby, Barry, Aime and others we have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. 

Blair Bunting, a dear friend of mine did the photography for us on a 115 degree day in Papago Park in Phoenix, Arizona. David Wilson was the writer on the project and I couldn't have asked for a better writer on the project. Plotter Doctors and Competition Printing helped us with the printing making it affordable to print enough copies to make a statement on and around campus. To all of you, thank you.

Below are the posters.

    

Headlines:

- Turning women into men since 1994.

- Be part of a family that likes to hit each other.

- See new places. Meet new people. Kick their asses.

- It takes balls to play. Technically, only one.

- PMS isn't a curse. It's an advantage.

Subhead on all posters: 

- Join the ASU Women's Rugby Team. Visit asuwrfc.com for team info.

Welcome to the ASUWRFC

Thank you for visiting our blog. If you are interested in joining or sponsoring our club please visit www.asuwrfc.com.